Fitchburg is now smoke-free (except for four specific establishments)! More information is available at the City of Fitchburg's smokefree page.
Fitchburg is justly famous for its great places to eat and drink. Enjoy smoke-free dining now at these fine local businesses:
Should your business be on this list? Contact Alder Steve Arnold with updates.
On June 13, 2006, Alders Steve Arnold and Bill Horns introduced the comprehensive Smoke-Free Fitchburg Ordinance, 2006-O-12. A fact sheet and the referral sheet for the ordinance are also available for review.
On June 27, 2006, the Surgeon General of the United States, Richard H. Carmona, issued a comprehensive scientific report: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. It summarized all the available scientific evidence and concludes, in part, that there is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke and that eliminating smoking in indoor places fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke. Read the press release here.
The Fitchburg Common Council rejected the Smoke-Free Fitchburg Ordinance at its meeting on July 11, 2006. Minutes of the meeting are posted on the City's Web site. Voting to approve were Arnold and Horns. Voting to reject were Darcy, Norton, Potts, Tesch, and Williams. Bloomquist was absent. The vote was on an amended version of the ordinance with an implementation date of January 1, 2007 and with an exception for an existing cigar bar.
A resolution by Alders Andy Potts and Tom Darcy to
urge the state Legislature to enact a comprehensive statewide smoking
ban
was amended by Public Safety and Human Services Committee and
adopted by the full Common Council on August 8, 2006. The resolution, as
as amended, may be viewed here.
In November, 2006, the Smoke-Free Fitchburg coalition launched a petition drive to support a new Smoke-Free Fitchburg Ordinance, 2006-O-26. The drive was originally intended to initiate direct legislation, but the coalition discovered in December that the ordinance would repeal the provision in the current Fitchburg ordinances permitting smoking sections in restaurants, and thus was ineligible for direct legislation. Nevertheless, the coalition continued to collect signatures to show the Common Council that there is overwhelming support in Fitchburg for 100% smoke-free indoor air.
The new ordinance is similar to the original version 2006-O-12, in that it prohibits smoking in almost all indoor public places and workplaces. The significant differences include updated findings and intent, exceptions for existing cigar bars and up to 20% of hotel rooms, no regulation of smoking outdoors, and an implementation date of July 14, 2007.
On January 22, 2007, the Smoke-Free Fitchburg coalition submitted the petition signed by 719 Fitchburg electors to the City Clerk. At the Common Council meeting on January 23, a coalition representative called on Council members to honor the will of the electorate and pass a strong smoke-free ordinance.
On February 5, 2007, the City Clerk certified that all 719 signatures gathered in support of Ordinance 2006-O-12 were valid Fitchburg electors. Canvasing continued through the local election season, and a total of 793 signatures were collected by election day, April 3, 2008.
At the request of Alders Tom Darcy and Richard Bloomquist, the City Attorney drafted a new version of the Smoke-Free Fitchburg Ordinance, 2007-O-06.
As finally amended, the Darcy/Bloomquist ordinance differs from the petition version of the Smoke-Free Fitchburg Ordinance in the following substantial ways:
The Darcy/Bloomquist ordinance betrays the petition of the 793 Fitchburg electors who support the petition version of the Smoke-Free Fitchburg ordinance. It favors the profits of four businesses over the public health of the community, and has a needlessly long implementation delay. Smoke-Free Fitchburg wants an ordinance that (1) puts public health first and (2) provides a level playing field for all Fitchburg businesses.
City of Fitchburg
Tobacco Free Dane County
Coalition
SmokeFree Wisconsin
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
American
Cancer Society Guide to Tobacco and Cancer
Links to other smoke-free ordinances:
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights model
Appleton, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, dated May 11, 2004 and the
tobacco bar
and chewing tobacco update, dated April 7, 2006
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